Forensic investigator plays two hours of recordings in Kaduna as judge overrules defence objection…
By Ogbeni Olawale Dawodu
A State Security Service (SSS) forensic investigator, Segun Kayode, on Tuesday told a Kaduna court that audio recordings captured former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his associates discussing $600,000 to frustrate an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness, testified before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court, Kawo. He said $500,000 and a further $100,000 were earmarked for EFCC officials and intermediaries to stall a probe into a company identified as Singularity.
He said Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) AU Mustapha, Jimi Lawal and Bashir El-Rufai were mentioned in the recordings. According to him, Mustapha and Lawal were to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template used in liquidating another company, so the same process could be applied to Singularity in Nigeria and Mauritius.
The witness added that the company was under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. He said the recordings also covered efforts to stop the EFCC from investigating IHS, a firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The claims are allegations presented in court and have not been proven by a final judicial decision.
Defence objection overruled
Before Kayode testified, El-Rufai’s lead counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected, arguing that the witness’s name and a summary of his evidence were missing from the proof of evidence. He said this breached his client’s right to a fair hearing and cited Section 210 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017.
Prosecution counsel Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN) countered that the witness was summoned by a subpoena issued and signed on June 30, 2026. He said the omission did not bar the testimony, since the defence could cross-examine.
Justice Khobo agreed that the details were absent from the proof of evidence but noted that court records confirmed the subpoena. He held that the omission did not make the testimony inadmissible and overruled the objection.
The defence also complained that it had not been served Kayode’s hard copy findings, which were admitted as Exhibit One. The judge directed it to obtain a certified true copy.
The sitting ran for nearly eight hours, from about 12:26 pm to 8:18 pm, with roughly two hours spent playing the recordings. The case was adjourned to November 30 and December 1, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination.
Custody and other cases
El-Rufai arrived at court at about 11:50 am under tight security, accompanied by Isa Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State. He was produced by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the court’s order, after the last sitting was adjourned in his absence. The court was told then that he had asked to see his personal physician about medical test results.
The hearing came days after the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, in its October 9 judgment, dismissed his appeal against the refusal of bail.
He has been in ICPC custody since February 18, 2026, over allegations of financial misconduct during his 2015 to 2023 tenure. The Kaduna State House of Assembly had petitioned the agency over alleged diversion and mismanagement of more than N423 billion. He has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing.
Separately, the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 8 dismissed his suit seeking to stop the ICPC and other agencies from freezing his accounts or seizing his assets. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik called it an abuse of court process.
